Tiverton and Honiton – sending a message to Johnson: all our articles on the by-election in one place

Tiverton and Honiton by-election – time to send Johnson an unequivocal message: the party’s over

If you have read our ‘About Us’ page, you will know that we are not affiliated to, supporters of, or the organ of, any political party. “Our political values are progressive and internationalist. We are party-blind but policy-focused and pro electoral reform. We believe in a kinder world that puts people before profit, that values […]

Letter to the editor: an A to Z – why nobody should vote for Johnson’s Conservative in the Tiverton and Honiton by-election

Dear West Country Voices, Here’s my list of reasons NOT to vote Conservative at the Tiverton and Honiton by-election. Austerity – 10+ years of needless ‘measures’ in a country with the 6th largest economy (GDP) in the world. Hit the poorest hardest. Brexit – it’s not done and it never will be; it was always a stupid idea. […]

Democracy is being undermined by this government. We need to make votes matter

Democracy is under threat like never before and our reliance on the antiquated first past the post system, which in Europe is shared only by Belarus, that bastion of democracy, is a key factor in the mass disenfranchisement of voters, the sense of powerlessness and disengagement with politics. This is the most fertile ground for […]

Battle of Hustings – Tiverton and Honiton by-election

On a balmy summer evening a week before the poll, the electorate of Tiverton and Honiton lined up expectantly to pack out the by-election hustings at the Tiverton Community Arts Theatre at Tiverton High School. As they queued across the courtyard, a number of local activists unfurled a substantial banner – 18 metres (60 feet) […]

Johnson got the big calls wrong – the voters in Tiverton and Honiton have the chance to get a big call right

I am getting increasingly fed up with hearing ‘Let us not forget that this is the Prime Minister who has consistently got the big calls right’. This particular quote comes from the Daily Express of June 7, 2022, but it originated in a speech by Johnson himself and has been parroted by Tory MPs, party […]

A message to voters in Tiverton and Honiton

I have been a Tory supporter since I was a child. My parents were as Tory as they come, our home hosted MP surgeries. Our front room was often piled high with election literature and envelopes. That is my dad in the photo. I have had the privilege of meeting three Prime Ministers: Macmillan, Heath, […]

How Labour supporters in Tiverton and Honiton and LibDem supporters in Wakefield can both make their votes count

The First Past the Post voting system is used nowhere else in Europe bar Belarus. Its ‘winner takes all’ approach  coupled with voter tribalism has led to safe seats in which MPs are able to coast to victory even with less than satisfactory track records and often on a minority of the total votes cast.. […]